Zumba gets people moving

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 10/01/2011 (5452 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Hips shook furiously to Latin beats, swivelled seductively to hip-hop lyrics and swayed softly to slow pop ballads. Feet swept across the floor one second and stomped in time the next. Brows sweated furiously and water bottles were emptied at breakneck speed.

And in the end, in the range of 100 smiling faces left the Keystone Centre’s UCT Pavilion on Sunday as Zumbathon champions.

The Brandon Family YMCA’s second annual Zumbathon saw close to 100 participants dance their way through two-and-a-half hours of high-energy, calorie-burning and confidence-boosting fitness routines yesterday afternoon.

A fundraiser for the Y’s Strong Kids campaign, the fun, interactive event was also organized to further raise interest in the organization’s wildly popular fitness program.

"We started in October of 2009 and in our first year, we had over 10,000 participants," says Cindie Dunn, a Zumba class instructor and the Y’s director of health, fitness and recreation. "It’s all about having fun. You just turn up the music and have fun with it. Everybody can do their own thing. We have younger kids all the way upwards of 75 or 80-year-olds and they all can participate in the same class."

Sisters Jodi and Robyn Poirier used to attend Zumba classes together at the Y last year and have recently shifted their workout regimen back into high gear with the help of recently purchased Zumba DVDs.

They hope the new year and yesterday’s Zumbathon will get them back on track with their fitness workout.

"(The DVD) is not near as fun as coming to class," Jodi said. "There’s more dances when you come to class than on the video."

After spotting an event poster while working out at the Y’s gymnasium, 18-year-old Lesley Goethals tried Zumba for the very first time yesterday.

"It’s a lot of fun," she said, red-faced while swigging her water bottle during a break. "A little bit out of breath, but I think I could be fun. It’s a good way to start off the new year."

While women dominated yesterday’s Zumba-ing crowd, a trio of men also braved the beat.

Tyril Froese, Ricky Paggao and Jordan Ludwig are all YMCA board members and were compelled to shake it in full Zumba workout gear yesterday after their fellow board members rose to a friendly challenge issued by Ludwig and matched the monetary total of the event’s overall registrations.

"It took all of about eight minutes for them to come up with the money," says Ludwig, laughing. "So, here we are."

Paggao admits he checked out a Zumba class for the first time at the YMCA last week, "to just to see what I was getting myself into."

"It’s awesome," he said near the end of the workout. "I feel wonderful."

"It beats running on the treadmill by far," added Ludwig. "It’s fun, it’s interactive and you get to joke around with people around you."

The event raised in the range of $1,350 for the Strong Kids campaign, which helps fund memberships for disadvantaged children in Brandon and Westman.

Zumba classes run five days a week at the YMCA, Mondays, Wednesday, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays on a drop-by basis.

People can find a Zumba workout time that suits them by visiting ymcabrandon.com.

However, Dunn has one very important piece of advice for first-time Zumba-ers or others who might be trying out a new physical fitness routine in the new year.

"The biggest thing is to set realistic goals and to build it into your life schedule," she said. "If you have children, family commitments or a full-time job, figure out something that works so that you can stick with it. If you re-arrange your whole life to make exercise work, you’re only going to stick with it for a few weeks."